The Proposal
by MissAnnette
Summary: When Alfred leaves Arthur for his home country of America yet again, he makes a promise that he has to keep.


A/N: Ah, my first "story", though I'm not sure if it can be considered such. I won't bore you with further rambling until the end of this one-shot. Inspired by http : / www . zerochan . net / 496031

Disclaimer: Neither do I own Hetalia nor any other establishments mentioned in this.

The Proposal

~oOo~

His classic black kicks stepped upon autumn leaves of Montgomery, New York, an air of confidence naturally surrounding him. Dressed in weathered Levi jeans and a white button-down shirt, he wore a brown bomber jacket proudly, the large numbers of 5 & 0 sewn into the back. However, he wore his smirk even more proudly, a glint shining on his glasses from the sun above. Yeah, this man, Alfred F. Jones, most certainly had something _awesome_ planned.

~oOo~

"_Oh," Arthur's voice trailed off for a second, his gaze lowering to the floor and remaining there as he replied, "so you are leaving?" It was more of a question than a statement, a question in hopes that maybe, just maybe, Alfred wasn't leaving yet again._

"_Well, I do have to, Artie." He tilted his head sympathetically, also hating these good byes. They seemed all too abundant. He had to get back to his boss, though. His people needed him and Alfred had to be their hero._

"_Of course." That tone was suddenly void of emotion and then filled with some mixture of nonchalance and pungent seriousness. _He didn't even complain about the nickname_, Alfred mused, but then decided to brush it off. After all, Arthur was always like this! _Always _way too serious and just, well, shy. Following this philosophy of Arthur's odd countenance, Alfred beamed down at the Brit, an odd twinkle in his cerulean eyes._

"_I promise it won't be that bad!" He nudged the emerald-eyed man, earning only a glare. "And you know a hero always keeps a promise."_

~oOo~

So, here Alfred was, breathing the air of New York, though it was more of a death-inducing sort of pollution than anything, carrying out that awesome plan he'd been planning for an innumerable amount of years now. He paused for a moment, stuffing lightly tanned hands into his beloved jacket's pockets, looking around to survey his surroundings. Alfred stood facing North, a light breeze blowing toward him, causing his cowlick to appear even more wild in that moment. Standing on the street of New York, he chuckled, _People are just so creative with naming streets. Mhmmm._ In front of him lay a large patch of green grass, turning a slight brown due to Autumn's negligent cold. However, the true prize lay beyond that bit of nature.

The Church of Good Will stood tall and grand in front of him, a large sign proclaiming the aforementioned name about twenty meters away. Perfect.

"Hey!" Alfred called out to what looked to be a stuffy, old business man.

The pressed suit of the man turned, showing an annoyed expression.

"Yes?"

"Do ya' mind taking a picture of me in front of this sign?" Alfred quickly fished out his cell phone from his pocket, handing it to the perturbed man without so much of an answer.

Jogging over to the sign, Alfred held his hands just under his chin, palms pressed together just as one would see a child pleading or looking cutesy. A snap and a flash from the camera a moment later, he jogged back over to the man, "Got it?"

"Uh, yeah." The middle aged man handed back the phone curtly, his composure shaken slightly by this odd man.

"Thanks!" Alfred took back his proffered phone and began yet another journey.

~oOo~

Another extraneous, rainy and dreary day in London. Arthur stood beside his window, leaning his light frame against it, a cup of warm tea in hand. Caught in thought, his gaze went beyond the rain. Then, a sigh and a moment later his train of thought was broken and he was taken away from reverie.

These days always made him long for Alfred all the more. Surprisingly, the rain never failed to remind him of that bright, and one could almost say sunny, man. Those droplets that splashed pure bodies on cement and gravel, dirt and leaves, continuously made him ponder what he could have. Arthur could have those sky blue eyes forever within his gaze. Yes, he most certainly could. In dreams, reveries and fantasies fueled by yearning. Of course, the world didn't work like that. Both he and Alfred had duties, not only in their personal lives, but to their countries as well. It was foolish to wish for something when one couldn't obtain it; When it's never possible to be obtainable.

~oOo~

Alfred had always loved people, the boundless energy that surrounded them and the never ending noise of voices. Because of this predisposed asset, he found himself in a subway terminal building, engulfed in the busy crowd and voices that shouted and whispered. However, that wasn't even close to being to most important thing to Alfred at the moment. The most important thing was but a few feet away, standing straight and tall. Another sign. Yeah, there was going to be a lot of signs today. Underneath a glossy, transparent surface lie a map of the terminal with the words "You Are Here" above.

Alfred hummed in thought for a moment, rocking back on his heels before spotting a pleasant woman who seemed to be a tourist. "Ma'am!" He called out, taking more respect to this woman than to the aged man he'd met earlier. Hey, at least she wasn't mean and stuff. She mouthed a reply to him, but Alfred couldn't hear over the deafening noise of the subway, just laughing and handing her his cell phone.

"Could you take a picture for me?" He gave the woman a beaming smile, one she couldn't possibly deny as he walked over to the sign. Alfred stood just below the phrase above the map, raising his eyes and tilting his head upward as though to look up toward it, cowlick resting just below of O in You. The second flash of that day occurred and the photo was taken. Alfred smiled and waved the woman away, halfway through fulfilling his promise.

~oOo~

Arthur set his fine china cup on the table as he sat down, pulling his knees up toward his chest. "So much for this departure being great," he mumbled in an agitated manner. As if sensing Arthur's distressing mood, his cat, whom he'd endearingly named Mint Bunny, jumped onto the tabled beside his laptop. Of course, Alfred would never be told of that embarrassing name for his cat. Not under any circumstances, at all. Instead, he'd taken to calling the snow white maine coon Camelot around Alfred and others. Somehow, though, he still got a bit of teasing for that name around the American oaf.

Glaring out the window, Arthur's mood further soured as he thought of _that _insufferable man. The white maine coon, however, took to rubbing its nose against his hand and purring, as though to put a smile on the British man's face. And, it worked. The corners of Arthur's mouth tilted slightly upwards and he scratched gently behind those white ears.

"You'll always be here to accompany me, right, Mint Bunny?" Arthur smiled when the maine coon purred louder, like that of a response, that vibrating sound now rivaling the decibels of his laptop's fan. Smiling wider, but just a bit, mind you, Arthur answered for his beloved pet.

"Of course you will."

~oOo~

Upon further wanderings, Alfred found himself examining a flower shop whose roses, tulips, and carnations were flaunted in the display window. He wasn't there for the flowers, though. Above the quaint door of the shop was the name of the florist's establishment, Rose & Mary. _Score!_ Alfred laughed happily to himself, completing his accomplishment with a fist pump to the air. This, of course, attracted the attention of a few weary passer-biers. He took no notice of them however, ignoring peculiar stares as he held his phone out in front of himself, pointing up toward the word Mary on the sign above as he took the picture.

Reviewing the photos he'd taken today, Alfred smiled to himself. _Just one more…_ He could feel himself growing nervous. Was he really doing this? Alfred paused for a moment and furrowed his eye brows. Of course he was! He had to do this for Arthur- he loved him. Alfred took a deep breath and grinned, surveying his new location for that last, memorable photo. His eyes locked on something in the distance. He smirked childishly to himself, making his way to his new destination.

Alfred was then standing before a men's restroom, hand covering the N in men on the door and laughing, holding his cell phone in an outstretched hand. Taking the photo, the American wondered how many 'gits' and 'idiots' he'd receive from Arthur for that one. _Oh well, _Alfred signed, _no turning back now._ Seating himself on a bench, Alfred attached the four photos to an e-mail, pausing a moment before pressing the send button on his cell phone's touch screen. He felt his heart flutter for a moment, the nervousness returning, but his smile never fading. All he had to do now was wait.

~oOo~

Taken yet again from his musings, Arthur grabbed his vibrating cell phone before it nearly fell off the table to an untimely death. He arched a thick eyebrow upon seeing an e-mail from Alfred, giving his cell phone a blank stare. Couldn't that git just call him? With his second sigh of the evening, Arthur opened the e-mail and the four photos attached to it.

The first photo was of Alfred next the word 'Will', hands pressed together. "What the hell does he want?" He asked aloud, wondering if that impossible American was going to ask some sort of stupid favor from him. Arthur stopped himself from further berating that man, though, going on to the next photo. Alfred looking up toward the word 'You'. Now, Arthur was just getting confused. Just what did that man have in mind?

Curiously, his finger touched the next button, and Arthur's heart dropped. Not necessarily in a bad way, though. In fact, Arthur found within himself a bit of happiness. However, that was easily overcome with extreme shock and surprise. He nearly dropped the phone, but due to some miracle, it remained in his pale hand. Arthur stared at Alfred pointing up toward the word 'Mary' on the sign above him. Arthur took that time in which his heart and breathing stopped to stare the those cerulean eyes. Those eyes he had come to miss so much, but only to love so much more. Arthur smiled contently, going on to the next photo. Therein he saw Alfred laughing in front of a men's restroom, covering the N in men to form 'Me'. Arthur found himself laughing, not just out of amusement, but out of love and happiness. Will you marry me? He'd never thought Alfred would ever so much as hint at such a thing. But, here he was. That is, dialing Alfred's number, waiting to reply.

~oOo~

Alfred remained on that bench, still waiting for Arthur's response. Then, his savior came with the sound of Queen's melody, Killer Queen. Hey, ain't nothing wrong with loving the oldies. Alfred quickly grabbed his phone, his pensive mood dissolving away when he recognized Arthur's number. Unable to wait any longer, Alfred pressed the little, green phone on his touch screen and greeted his lover cheerily.

"Hey there, Artie!"

"_Yes_."

A/N: Woot! My rambling shall commence now :D. First off, I listened to Train's Marry Me like twenty times while writing this. I love that song so much I nearly cried. Eh, I'm a whimp. Anyways, some facts may not be correct, like the location of the Good Will Church, but meh. And lastly in concerns with the story, be sure to go to the picture I put in my first Arthur's note, you'll die a heavenly death of cute. Now, onto my possible, future stories. I may write some more one-shots and such, maybe even a multi-chaptered story. But, I warn you, I'm am way too good at procrastinating. It sort of all depends on my inspiration and such. Anyways, before I bore you, please review, and thank you for reading!


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